Campaign of the Month:
June 2012

Crimson Skies

Gypsy (Prestige Class)

Although most Gypsies are viewed as untrustworthy fortunetellers or sneaky pickpockets who recount tall tales to distract and manipulate people’s emotions, those who have dealt with them know that there is more truth to what they say than actually meets the eye. A Gypsy is usually a member of a nomadic tribe who travels the globe in an attempt to earn a descent living or more simply a lonely but proud wanderer. Whatever his origins, a Gypsy is inclined to a nomadic and unconventional way of life. More specifically, he is a survivor who has a limited ability to sense future events. Though many who move from one realm to the next seeking employment and a place to live have been called Gypsies, only those who have the magical aptitude to read the future can take on this prestige class.

Adventures: A Gypsy is a bon vivant who travels the world to gain knowledge and experience, while struggling to master his strange and whimsical abilities. He excels in any situation where discretion and survival instincts are required, and his sixth sense often makes him react to danger more quickly than other characters.

Characteristics: A Gypsy is a jack-of-all-trades who learned to survive in the direst of environments. Capable of casting a limited amount of spells, of concealing his own thoughts and emotions, as well as tracking any man or beast, a Gypsy’s most important talent is his ability to glimpse into the future. While many who meet him assume he is but a charlatan who only says what his audience wants to hear, a Gypsy is one of those rare individuals blessed with mystical foresight.

Alignment: A Gypsy can be both good and evil, but the majority of them tend toward neutrality. Because of his nomadic lifestyle and the fact that he is not attached to any king or country, a Gypsy never truly follows legitimate authorities and their laws. In fact, many Gypsies have been persecuted by such authorities simply because they were nomad foreigners or perceived as false tellers of fortunes (sometimes both).

Religion: Although a Gypsy is not required to worship any faith, most members of this prestige class are highly spiritual characters. When a Gypsy devotes himself to a god, it is usually a deity of knowledge, foresight, good fortune, or the wilderness.

Background: Most Gypsies hail from nomadic tribes, but some among them are actually loners cursed with wanderlust. In parts of the world where large tribes of nomads abound, the majority of Gypsies hail from these people. Generally, Gypsies are poor and seldom care for riches, relying on their wits and survival instincts rather than accumulated wealth or ownership of properties.

Races: Though anyone can become a Gypsy, most members of this prestige class hail from a race that is at ease in the wilderness. Because of this, barbaric humans, wild elves, half-orcs, orcs, and goblinoids are especially attracted to the Gypsy prestige class. Halflings and half-elves who are attracted by nature and who have the will to travel great distances sometimes become Gypsies, but dwarves and gnomes usually do not.

Other Classes: While all Gypsies respect Druids and Rangers, those of tribesman heritage hold Barbarians in high regards. Warriors are also respected, as they are viewed as protectors of the people. Gypsies are often attracted to Bards, the masters of ancient lore and history, as they can learn many tales from them. Divine spellcasters are often considered essential, especially if they have the capacity to heal others. Sorcerers and Wizards, on the other hand, are often mistrusted by Gypsies, who fail to understand their thirst for power.

Abilities: A Gypsy’s special class abilities and skills depend upon his intuition and personal magnetism, so both Wisdom and Charisma are important to him.

Hit Die: d6

Requirements

To qualify to become a Gypsy, a character must fulfill all the following requirements:

*Special*: The character must either hail from a nomadic people who frequently roam part of the world or adapt a nomadic lifestyle himself.

Special: The term Gypsy can refer to a specific tribe, a variety of people who follow similar traditions, or more simply a group of individuals who are both nomadic and highly self-reliant. It is up to the Game Master to decide what the term Gypsy refers to in his own campaign world. If the Game Master feels that this prestige class should be reserved to characters hailing from a particular culture — or those rare individuals who are accepted by the people of that culture as their own —, then the character must be a member of this particular culture. The name Gypsy can also be reserved strictly to those individuals who take on this prestige class, in which case there are no additional requirements.

Class Features

All the following are class features of the Gypsy prestige class:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Gypsy is proficient in the use of all simple weapons as well as with the hand and throwing axe, longsword, rapier, and short sword. A Gypsy is also proficient with light armor, but not with shields.

Spells per Day: Beginning at 1st level, a Gypsy can cast arcane spells just as a Sorcerer does. To cast a particular spell, the Gypsy must have a Charisma score of at least 10 + the spell’s level. He gains bonus spells based on his Charisma score, and the Difficulty Class for the saving throws against his spells is 10 + the spell’s level + the Gypsy’s Charisma modifier. Like a Bard or Sorcerer, a Gypsy does not need to prepare his spells ahead of time.

For every level a Gypsy attains, he gains new arcane spells per day as shown in the “Gypsy’s Spells Per Day Table”. At levels 1 through 10, a Gypsy learns more spells as indicated in the “Gypsy’s Known Spells Table”. These new spells must be Gypsy spells the character can cast.

Conceal Motive (Ex): A Gypsy is particularly good at hiding his real emotions, ambitions, and motives. It is in the Gypsy’s very nature to be not only suspicious of others but also careful not to reveal his true intentions — for fear that he might be taken advantage of. As he gains experience, this unconscious shield makes it more difficult for others to probe the Gypsy’s thoughts. Beginning at 1st level, any Sense Motive check made against him by an opponent suffers a penalty equal to the Gypsy’s class level + his Wisdom modifier (if positive). This extraordinary ability is always in effect.

Track: Of a nomadic nature, the Gypsy is always on the move, journeying from one place to the next and never calling any locale home. His constant travels make him especially good at locating and following hidden paths. A 1st level Gypsy adds half his level (minimum 1) to Survival skill checks made to follow tracks.

Survivalist (Ex): A Gypsy’s nomadic lifestyle makes him able to survive in the most extreme environments and conditions. From 2nd level and onward, he only needs to consume half as much food and water each day than what is normally required for the members of his race. Though he might choose to eat or drink more than the minimum he requires, he never suffers from attrition due to lack of food or water as long as he ingests at least half of what would normally be needed of him.

Survivor’s Instincts (Ex): As he gains knowledge and experience, a Gypsy’s survival instincts hone. At 2nd level, he gains a +1 insight bonus to all Knowledge (nature) and Survival skill checks. These bonuses improve by +1 at 4th level and every two levels thereafter (6th level, 8th level, and 10th level).

Glimpse Future (Su): A Gypsy’s most important aptitude is his ability to glimpse into the future. Upon attaining 3rd level, a Gypsy can, as a full round action, see events unfold in the near future. When this supernatural ability is triggered, the Gypsy character rolls a number of d20 equal to his Charisma modifier + one-third his Gypsy class level (round down). He must take note of these results and use one of them each time he is required to roll a d20 for an unlimited duration, until all d20 results have been used. Although the Gypsy must use each of these d20 rolls, he is free to utilize them in any order he wishes. He is thus able to have at least partial control of his own fate. Glimpse future can be used once per day at 3rd level and one additional time each day when the Gypsy reaches 6th level and 9th level.

Improved Reaction (Ex): A Gypsy’s limited ability to predict future events also bestows him a sixth sense allowing him to react quickly to danger. At 3rd level, a Gypsy gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks. At 9th level, the bonus increases to +4. Improved reaction stacks with the benefit provided by the Improved Initiative feat.

Conceal Alignment (Ex): When he attains 4th level, the Gypsy’s ability to conceal his motives further improves. Without any conscious effort on his part, he learns to hide his true nature. Beginning at 4th level, it is impossible for others to detect his alignment. This extraordinary ability functions like the Undetectable Alignment spell, with the exception that it is always active. Only divination spells and effects are fooled by this ability. Spells and other abilities that target specific alignments (such as Protection From Chaos or the paladin’s smite evil ability) affect the Gypsy normally.

Gypsy’s Fortune (Su): The Gypsies are renown for hiding their true feelings as well as for their ability to glimpse into the future. Many people view them as conniving thieves, fraudulent charlatans, and disreputable nomads who make their home anywhere in the world. Very few, however, know that their intuitive insight sometimes turn fate in their favor. Many Gypsies pride themselves on being masters of there own destinies, and those who reach 5th level in this prestige class can indeed change their fortune. Once per day, a 5th level Gypsy can re-roll any one attack roll, damage roll, skill check, ability check, or saving throw. The Gypsy character can use this ability once the result of the initial roll, check, or save is revealed, but before it has taken effect. He must accept the result of the re-roll, even if it is worse than the original one. A Gypsy can use this ability one additional time each day at 8th level, but can never use it more than once on any given roll, check, or save.

Conceal Presence (Ex): As the Gypsy gains levels in this prestige class, he learns not only to conceal his thoughts and nature, but also his very presence. At 7th level and beyond, he can use the Stealth skill even while being observed. As long as he is within 10 feet of some sort of shadow, a Gypsy can hide himself from view in the open without having anything to actually hide behind. He cannot, however, hide in his own shadow.

Conceal Location (Ex): When he reaches 10th level, the Gypsy’s unconscious mind is so strong that he can prevent others from detecting his presence with divination spells and effects such as Clairaudience/Clairvoyance, Locate Creature, and Detect spells. If a divination is attempted against him, the caster of the divination must succeed at a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against a Difficulty Class of 20 + the Gypsy’s Charisma modifier. Failing this caster level check means that the divination attempt failed and the spell or ability is wasted. This extraordinary ability is always in effect.